Lawn and garden tractors and other utility vehicles may have sector and pinion or rack and pinion steering systems. These steering systems include a pinion gear attached to the shaft of a steering wheel, a sector gear or rack mounted to a steering mounting plate, and one or more drag links or ball joints connecting the sector gear or rack to steering arms of steerable wheels.
Sector and pinion or rack and pinion steering systems may generate noticeable and undesirable noise during operation. For example, these steering systems may have a metallic clunk as the steering wheel is quickly rocked from side to side, and a tapping noise as the steering wheel is turned back and forth.
A simple and inexpensive device is needed for reducing noise of a steering system on a lawn and garden tractor or other utility vehicle.